


delicate wings

by AFireInTheAttic



Series: Destroy Dic(tion) December [17]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/F, Fairies, Mentioned Harry/Ron, Snow, The Happily Ever After Project, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 04:33:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AFireInTheAttic/pseuds/AFireInTheAttic
Summary: Ginny stared down at her friend and roommate. When they'd moved in together, Ron had pointed out that weirdos really were her type. She'd punched him at the time and reminded him he was dating Harry now, so he was equally likely to date weirdos. And she didn't like Luna, anyway, not like that—all the months of fairy talk had kept her from it. Not to mention Luna had an unfortunate habit of looking disarmingly adorable in the morning as she blinked awake, and Ginny might be gay but she didn't like beautiful and blonde sweethearts who...pricked their fingers in her dreams, or who kissed her fingers in her waking moments.





	delicate wings

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt “snow,” from the WFN Advent challenge! Also for Lupa_Barnes’ challenge, Destroy Dic(tion) December.
> 
> It's been a while since I visited these prompts, for which I apologize...but im back!!
> 
> This is also based on an Icelandic word prompt: álfatrú - belief in fairies

Ginny woke up to a clatter, presumably from the living room, groped for her cricket bat, and stumbled to her bedroom door.

“It’s just me,” she heard her flatmate, Luna, call quietly.

“God’s sake,” she muttered, and opened the door. “What are you doing?”

She was still in her puffy jacket and snow boots, cheeks soft pink from the chill, obviously just back. “Sorry, Ginny. I closed tonight.”

Ginny shivered. It was cool in the living room, undoubtedly because the door had been open only a moment before. “How was it?”

“Okay.” She took off her jacket and hung it up on the hook near the door. “Not everyone appreciates the work that goes into making a perfect cappuccino, but what do you expect?”

Ginny smiled a bit. Luna was stranger than most, but like everyone else working through uni, they shared a hatred of customers. “The usual then.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “But the snow is lovely.”

She shook her head in response—Weasleys only like the snow for snowball fights. Beyond that it was just cold slush, and Ginny would much rather be in bed, or in front of a warm fire.

But no weather seemed to get Luna down. She said exactly the same thing about the rain when she came inside covered in mud, or about the sun when she was drenched in sweat. It was almost charming.

“Sorry for waking you. I kicked the fairy water on accident.” Sure enough, at her feet there was an overturned bowl of water, luckily only seeping in to linoleum.

“I thought we were keeping it on the table,” Ginny sighed. The small bowl of water had initially been a source of contention in their flat. Luna kept putting it in strange places where “fairies were sure to come,” which mostly led to Ginny stepping in the water. Again and again. Finally, she put her wet socked foot down, and told Luna to keep it on a table. “Fairies have wings,” she’d said to Luna's protests.

Not that she really believed in fairies, or magic of any kind, but Luna hadn’t even been embarrassed when she’d laughed at the idea. She’d just smiled patiently and continued setting up her small bowl of water, two soft rose petals inside.

“I didn’t move the bowl,” Luna said with a shrug. She didn’t seem to concerned about it as she stepped out of her boots and knelt to pick up the bowl and flower petals.

For all of her strangeness, Luna wasn’t much of a liar, so Ginny was concerned. “If you didn’t move it, who did?” Maybe they could get the locks changed...

“The fairies?” the blonde girl suggested, smiling wryly. 

“Very funny,” she said, scowling. She wrapped her arms tighter around her midsection, shivering. “Someone else might have come in to do it.”

She just shrugged in response. “Would you break into someone’s flat and move things around just to mess with them?”

No, not unless it was her brother’s flat... “it was probably Ron, or George, maybe. I’ll call them later and give them a talking to.”

“Okay, Ginny,” Luna says, like she finds it a bit silly, but not meanly. “Will you be headed back to bed? I’ll keep it down out here.”

“You’re not turning in, yet?”

She shakes her head. Some of her hair has come loose from her French braid. It frames her face and makes her look a bit wild. Or tired, maybe. “I’ve a spot of homework.”

“All right,” Ginny says, and puts herself to bed. True to her word, Luna doesn't wake her.

* * *

Ginny dreams of rose petals that night, sewn into her clothing, full of aroma and softness. 

She dreams of Luna pricking her finger on the sewing needle as she hems Ginny’s jeans, sucking her finger into her mouth while gazing straight into her own eyes—

She wakes up to her tinkling alarm, nervous, burning.

* * *

Luna was asleep on the couch. Her textbooks were open on the floor, and her laptop had died in the night. 

Ginny didn't even stop to think—she brewed a fresh batch of coffee, plugged in Luna’s computer, and covered her with a blanket. Then she went back to hunting down her breakfast. Today’s prey was a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Not particularly appetizing, but something was probably better than nothing. And cereal was cheap, which helped with the whole poor uni student thing. 

She was still crunching through her breakfast when she noticed the fairy bowl had moved to the windowsill behind Luna. It wasn't the table, but she was fine with not stepping in it. 

According to the calendar, Luna’s class started in about an hour. She usually only needed twenty minutes to get ready to go, so Ginny resolved to wake her before she left. It was early, but she couldn't be sure Luna'd set an alarm, obviously having passed out in between botany chapters. 

Ginny sighed into her coffee. It was going to be a long day. The snow hadn’t let up, so she’d need to bundle up. That probably meant one of her mum’s sweaters, which of course were lovely, but people always seemed to expect her to call her mum up and get them their own Weasley sweater, like yarn was growing free on trees or something. Luna had loaned her a pair of mittens, so she’d wear those with her dark blue sweater, and maybe a jacket on top of that...

Absentmindedly, she sent her mum a text. “Love you.” She’d gotten better at keeping in touch with them since Fred had given her parents a new set of phones. They were on the same plan, too, so they even had a data plan. 

As she tucked her phone in her pocket, she wandered over to the couch and gently shook Luna awake. "Hey," she murmured. "I think your class is soon." 

Luna only mumbled in response and rolled over. 

She sighed. Well, she'd get dressed and then wake her again. It wasn't something her brothers ever did for her growing up, but she'd always wished they had. Growing up in a household of nine—and sometimes ten, if Harry was staying with them—meant she hadn't slept much.

Now, with Luna, she might be sleeping too much. Not that she was complaining. 

It only took her a few minutes to get dressed. She shook Luna awake again. "Hey, I'll be leaving soon. I don't think you set an alarm."

"S'okay," Luna said sleepily. "Thank you for waking me." Despite her coherency, she didn't actually move or open her eyes. 

"Luna..."

She didn't say anything in reply. She did reach out and take Ginny's hand from her shoulder. "Don't worry," she whispered, squeezing it once, and then kissing the tip of her ring finger. "I'll be fine." 

"Luna?" she whispered, not quite sure what to make of the kiss. "Luna? Are you awake?"

"Yes," she answered, and now her eyes opened. "Good morning."

She stared down at her friend and roommate. When they'd moved in together, Ron had pointed out that weirdos really were her type. She'd punched him at the time and reminded him he was dating Harry now, so he was equally likely to date weirdos. And she didn't like Luna, anyway, not like that—all the months of fairy talk had kept her from it. Not to mention Luna had an unfortunate habit of looking disarmingly adorable in the morning as she blinked awake, and Ginny might be gay but she didn't like beautiful and blonde sweethearts who...pricked their fingers in her dreams, or who kissed her fingers in her waking moments.

She bit her lip, nervous because that same burning feeling she woke up with is twisting in her stomack now. "You...are you okay?"

The beautiful blonde sweetheart nodded, and Ginny fled for the relative safety of her classes.

* * *

 Even though Ginny and Harry broke up and he started dating her brother within a week, they were still best friends. So it was Harry she went to after her first two classes with an americano and masala chai. "I've fucked up," she wailed.

He drank the tea, apparently not very surprised by this turn of events. "What happened this time?"

She tugged her hat low over her eyes and squeezed them shut. Maybe she could will it all away. "I have...a crush."

"That doesn't sound very fucked up."

"On my flatmate."

"Well, Luna is lovely, so..."

"I live with her!"

"That makes shagging easier."

"What, were you and Ron shagging every time you were over?"

"Don't be stupid. I didn't know I liked him until uni. But we live together now and..." 

"Don't finish that sentence. I don't even know why I came to talk to you." She took the americano and left. 

"Love you," he called after her.

Useless.

* * *

 "Hi Ginny." Luna was tucked under a blanket on the couch, looking much the same as she had hours before, when Ginny had left. The only reason she was certain she hadn't been there all day was that she had an entirely new pile of books in front of her, as well as a different sweater. She defintiely didn't give any indication as to whether she knew Ginny had been agonizing over her feelings all day. 

She was just...Luna.

Of course, that was exactly why Ginny liked her. 

So, without any clue how to go about this, Ginny decided to sit next to her and hope for the best. "Hey," she said. She ended up perched outside of Luna's blanket nest, her feet tucked under her legs and leaning toward Luna. "Um, how was class?"

"All right. I managed to finish my homework before the teacher collected." She leaned a bit toward Ginny, too, smiling her serene smile. "What about you?"

"Fine," she said, and didn't elaborate—she'd been daydreaming of Luna, after all. She didn't remember a single class. "I met Harry for coffee and tea." 

"How is he?"

"Fine," she said, and she thought, 'He thinks I should just go for it. Obviously he doesn't know I'm an entire rotisserie chicken.'

"Lovely." She's still smiling at Ginny, apparently waiting for...whatever Ginny is going to do. It's almost nerve-wracking, but her nerves have already been shot to hell.

Ginny screws up her courage to do something, anything—but Luna surprises her again. She leans closer and presses a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Oh," Ginny whispers.

Luna smiles. "The first kiss gives a fairy her wings, you know."

"I don't think that's true."

She shrugged, still smiling. "Maybe not."

Ginny touched the kiss on her face and found herself smiling back. "So what about the second kiss?"

"That one is just for us," Luna said.

**Author's Note:**

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